I have become stronger, but also shorter [comprehensive]

【I lied to Isabella. 】

Although it was definitely not intentional, from another perspective, it is not deception or entrapment at all.

but.

Saiki Kusuo didn't realize until the end that he had done quite a lot of things.

He shouldn't have shown the world he knew to a girl in another world without knowing the specific situation at all.

Yes, espers are definitely unintentional.

Saiki Kusuo's original intention has already been described, he just wanted the girls who stayed in the orphanage since they were young to know more clearly what the ordinary and ordinary world looks like.

"Ordinary and ordinary", this definition may seem mediocre, but it must be the most beautiful word of praise in the hearts of people who yearn for peace and tranquility.

Because, the vast and boundless world is second, and a prosperous and powerful country is also secondary. In the hearts of most human beings, a happy life with friends, family, and lovers can satisfy them.

Because Saiki Kusuo grew up in such an environment.

He somehow wanted Isabella to feel the same way he did.

Just the vast space in the dream is not enough to impress the girl who never believed in him from the beginning to the end.

So, he did this particularly "redundant" thing:

——Slightly changed the scene and narrowed down the location to an equally ordinary family.

Saiki Kusuo let Isabella see the daily relationship of ordinary families.

ordinary.Sure enough, that's the only way to evaluate it.

Every morning, when the water is boiling, there is a sound of gurgling in the kettle, and the white gas from the mouth of the kettle slowly diffuses in the kitchen, counteracting the smell of oily smoke from the pot.

Breakfast was ready, and there was a sound of kicking in the stairwell. The man and the boy who came down from the stairs came to the dining table, and the family had breakfast together.

What follows is a relatively busy period.

Whether it's going to school, going to work, or doing housework at home, when you are busy, you don't hide your fulfillment.

The short parting is to pave the way for the goodbye at the end of the day.

In their spare time, they would occasionally sit on the sofa together, with the adults watching TV and the children concentrating on playing games.

Waiting for the sunny weather on the weekend, they will go out for an outing.Adults take their children, leisurely submerged in the crowd outside the house, looking for happy moments that only belong to them.

Day after day, this family seems to live a life that seems to be the same, but there is one thing that has not changed.

[Real relatives all live like this. 】

The superpower did not appear in the girl's dream, but was hidden in the "narration".

As for the "truth", he did not discover it, but after observing Isabella for so long, he finally understood a certain obsession she had been pursuing.

She seemed stubborn to get an earnest answer.

It wasn't that she asked Saiki Kusuo countless times the question of "what's 'outside' look like'", the real question was buried in her heart, buried very deep, and it was a place that people with superpowers have never been able to touch .

——It turns out that the 'outside' is the same as the scene seen in the dream?

[I'm not sure if you are here, but if there is an orphanage like this, it won't be too bad. 】

——The people 'outside' live such a happy life?

[I can't say everyone... Well, that's basically it.There is nothing wrong with having more expectations and hopes for the future. 】

--It would be great.

It is here, the final word.

In the dream world that has not dissipated, the black-haired girl who had been silent for a long, long time suddenly raised her head and opened her legs suddenly.

Isabella passed through the tiny gap exposed among the crowded pedestrians on the street. She tried her best to move forward, and it didn't take long before she left all the noise and annoyance behind her.

She galloped through the streets where reality and fiction combined, her ponytail swaying in the briskest arc.

The running road is no longer the orphanage's green grasslands and forests with complex terrain.

When the bright sunlight fell, it seemed to pass through the transparent wings made of light water vapor after the rain. These wings grew behind the girl.

[Isabella, where do you want to go? 】

——I... want to see 【】.

Said the heart of the galloping girl.

——【】Adopted, not only him, many relatives in the orphanage have left the place where we grew up together.

- They will live happily in the 'outside' family, right?Living peacefully and steadily, we have an appointment, and we will see you 'outside' in the future!

Isabella's footsteps became lighter and lighter, as if she could really fly lightly soon.

Her pressure was gone, and the unknown fear that lingered in her heart after looking directly at the abyss was followed by the ray of "hope".

In the dream, the girl was actively looking for her partners who had lost track of one after another, as well as a certain boy with whom she had a promise.

Well, she found them.

Excited, happy, joyful—from this moment on, the superhuman who just used his ability to cheat and sneak in completely lost control of the girl's dream.

The next development of the dream will proceed according to Isabella's ideas.

In this "competition" with a huge gap and not a competition, Saiki Kusuo seems to have "lost" again.However, he himself didn't care about it, he just felt relieved.

It cannot be said that he "lost".

Because, Saiki Kusuo also gained something here.

Isabella's secret was finally completely deciphered by him. The black-haired girl who got what she wanted in the dream threw herself into the arms of the boy whose face could not be seen clearly. The ups and downs of emotions were completely released, and the laughter and tears were very real.

——So, meddling to this extent is really enough for me.

Saiki Kusuo still hasn't admitted that he's a little pleased with the result.

Satisfied, the awkward superpower thought to himself, wouldn't it be good to have this time to find someone?How long has it been since he thought of those two... Who is it?

Ah, it's dangerous.

All in all, just remember it, and don't care about other details at all, um, that's it.

Isabella's heart knot was resolved, and after a while, she also got the good news that she would be adopted soon.

This is indeed a good thing, not only for Isabella, but also for Saiki Kusuo.

Affected by his own inexplicable entanglement and persistence, the superpower who forcibly squatted in the orphanage for several months was freed.

He thought of his missing friends conscientiously, and regardless of the doubts that had always existed, the superpower felt that it was time to leave and wander outside to find someone.

The day Isabella planned to leave the orphanage was also the day Saiki Kusuo planned to leave.

He was still invisible, but because he was finally able to go outside with confidence, Saiki Kusuo thought that it would not be impossible to follow Isabella for a while from a distance.

When the girl arrives at the place, the "drop in" section of the road is considered to be completely over.That's what Saiki Kusuo planned.

but.

Until now, Saiki Kusuo still didn't notice.

He ignored the "loophole" that should have been the most obvious.

For some reason, when Isabella was held by the nun's hand and walked towards the secluded warehouse in the distance, the psychic who should have been hanging from a distance to keep up felt tired.

It wasn't ordinary tiredness, the drowsiness came for no reason, without warning, and covered him overwhelmingly, and suddenly a thousand weights hung on his eyelids.

Saiki Kusuo actually fell asleep.

Still fell asleep in a second.

Drowsy, in a trance.

And he who has not had a dream for several months——

"Oh, young man who met only by chance, you are really in a terrible predicament."

"No way, let me, an irrelevant person, meddle in this one time.

A voice that was so familiar that it was about to form a (stomach twitch) conditioned reflex suddenly appeared, and Saiki Kusuo actually had a dream again.

Fortunately, there is no background of flowers and towers.

Although the magician was still dressed so gaudyly, he sat on the branch of a tree that popped up out of nowhere with his legs crossed, his cheeks resting on his hands, and his voice was no longer frivolous, but solemn Come:

"It's time to wake up, the boy named Saiki Kusuo, now is not the time to be intoxicated in a beautiful dreamland."

"—Although, being immersed in a dream may be much happier than being awake in reality and facing the truth."

The magician's voice was like thunder, blasting in Saiki Kusuo's ears.

"..."

"...You...It's you again? No, this time, you didn't come—"

"That's right." The magician didn't put his legs down, and he didn't get down from the tree that didn't seem like he would be there--to be honest, this sitting posture, this height, plus this not being in a high place to look down on others will make you feel tired all over your body. Uncomfortable habits seem to have been made by imitating another person.

"The story of that man has already been told. I showed up this time, but I saw that you went to the wrong place and at the wrong time. I really can't stand it-well, that's all I have to say, please hurry up wake up."

"As for waking up, what to do after you understand..."

Learn the condescending posture of another person.

The bottom of the magician's purple eyes that slanted downward seemed to have a different kind of luster.

It seems that there is no color in itself, but the coldness reflected by other objects.

"It's up to you to choose."

click-

The crisp sound similar to breaking glass passed by without leaving any traces.

At the same time, the pink-haired boy who was lying on the grass and fell asleep suddenly opened his eyes!

A certain force that had been continuously turned into a barrier to control him and influence him in the dark was smashed through by the instantaneous burst of power of the superpower.

For a moment, there was no obstacle covering his eyes.

For a moment, all the clear scenes in the warehouse in the distance can be seen in the depths of the pupils of the superpower user.

In the center of the picture is the back of a girl who seems to be frozen in the darkness.

Instead of the white dress and white dress that was standard in the orphanage, the black-haired girl stood blankly opposite the other kind of creature that was far taller, stronger, and even terrifying than herself.

Dead silence.

It was as if the air was frozen at this moment, suffocating like it couldn't circulate.

——Don't think about it, Isabella's mood at this moment.

——Don't even think about what a terrible situation she is in.

Saiki Kusuo woke up.

The way to wake him up is very intuitive, because it is the nausea that rises from the stomach, and perhaps rises from even deeper places.

He saw people and ghosts.

People are still human beings in cognition.

The ghost is the twisted creature encountered in the forest at the earliest time, and the ugly object that appeared in the warehouse and came face to face with Isabella at this time.

It was at this moment that Saiki Kusuo understood.

Orphanages are not orphanages, but breeding farms and slaughterhouses.

The children who grow up here and are adopted between the ages of six and 12 are some human beings who prepare food for ghosts.

The children's laughter echoed under the blue sky and white clouds, and the nuns sang soft songs.

The white corners of the clothes swayed in the breeze, clean and pure.

Far from the blood-stained delivery warehouse, where the sun shines, the surface of the land covered with decay and filth is clean.

……

wrong.

Can those human beings really be described as "human"?

they.

they.

would--

……

"It was after learning the truth that you, with your own ability, changed the setting of this world?"

"Yes."

Saiki Kusuo admitted.

"I will make all the man-eating ghosts in the world disappear, and erase the fundamental 'setting' here."